Good Things Take Time to Ferment

It is true of your life, your work, and your relationships. It is true of organizations that have been around forever, and of start-ups that are created in a flash of creativity. It is a lesson I am learning from the craft brewers I know.

Good things take time to ferment.

You use the best ingredients you can find. In craft brewing, you combine good water, grain, yeast, and hops. In an organization, you recruit the best people who share your values and vision. Personally, you get the best education you can and spend your life in the best, most life-giving ways you can. Ingredients are important.

You put things together, give them the right conditions, and then give them time to ferment.

It is probably the most important part of the process. For many people it is the most challenging part. There is not a lot to do other than wait and see what happens. You have already done almost everything you possibly can to effect the outcome, yet you still do not know the result.

We do not appreciate waiting. We want instant gratification, overnight success, immediate results.We do not want to take time and see what happens. We have so many other things to do.

One of the reasons I appreciate craft breweries, and craft brewers, so much is that they understand that it takes time for good things to ferment. It is one of the reasons that monks are so good at brewing.

The value of their waiting is demonstrated each time we taste what they brew. Taste for yourself this afternoon when my Craft Brewery Pilgrimage visits PackingHouse Brewing Company in Riverside, or at any of our monthly stops.

Good things take time to ferment.

What is fermenting in your life?

[Image by auntjojo]